A/N: Yes, the Frontline, one of my favorite chapters in all of the Metro series. I wanted to get this out much sooner, but I have a lot of other things to work on. Especially since I'm starting another project soon. Speaking of which, if you're a fan of the Resident Evil series and RWBY (Which I assume you are seeing as you're reading this particular story) you should totally check it out. As I promised Ruby will appear towards the end of this chapter. If you think I should add anymore characters in feel free to PM me. As always you should leave a review, consider following to stay up to date, and please have yourself a wonderful day.

Chapter 16: Frontline


Artyom's Entry: Even after the passing of the same war that turned the world into the hell it is today, we never stopped killing each other over different ideologies. Velvet and I were about to go through the front line between both the Nazis and the Communists. My stepfather once told me of a previous war where the two sides fought. Apparently the Nazis lost that one.

During the large portion of the cart ride, the Communist Soldiers loudly shared songs in the Russian language with one another. Velvet and Artyom couldn't exactly ask the men to stop their singing. Seeing as if they did the consequences would most likely be very fatal. As the cart came closer to its destination, the men stopped singing. Velvet was able to hear them loading their weapons. From what she was able to make out, the Reds had some serious firepower.

They'd soon get to see the firepower firsthand. But for now trouble made an entrance. With all the damage the cart had taken on the way to the front line, it was practically starting to break apart. The bottom of the transportation car, which currently houses our two friends, was the first to go. The wood planks beneath the Stalkers began to snap in half. If they would've fallen under, there's no doubt they'd be sliced in half.

Lucky Artyom reacted quickly to the situation and insured their survival. He pushed Velvet, who only just now became aware of the problem, off of the cart and onto the right side of the tracks. He then threw himself to the other side. After hitting the ground, and now having a few small scratches on his arms as well as a bloody nose, Artyom quickly ran to where Velvet landed to make sure she was alright.

To his surprise Velvet was already up and appeared to have taken no considerable damage. Velvet smirked and said, ''The trick is to duck and roll just before you land.'' She had to avoid laughing to loudly since they were still in enemy territory. Artyom used his shirt to get the blood off of his nose.

''Da, you're welcome for the push.'' He said, moving closer to Velvet. He reached into one of her pockets and pulled out the lighter. He picked a random spot on the ground and ignited a homemade cigarette. He tossed the lighter back to Velvet, who after catching it took a seat next to him.

She reminded Artyom about the dangers of smoking. ''Something tells me we're going to need all the stamina we have if we want to reach Miller.'' She said, trying to avoid the smoke emitting from the cigarette. ''You sure it's a good idea to be smoking?''

The question was a dumb one in the eyes of Artyom. Everyone he knew eventually started smoking at one point in their. It wasn't necessarily from addiction, but because there wasn't much else to do in order to pass time in the Metro.

After finishing his cigarette, Artyom tossed it into the darkness of the tunnel and began to stand up. He only made it half way up before he was stopped by an orange box hitting his head. It gave him a large headache but on the bright side he wasn't bleeding.

''Proklyat'ye!'' Artyom began to curse while pain moved around inside his head. Velvet looked to the small container, that was now open. She spotted what looked like binoculars. But upon further inspection she realized they were actually night vision goggles. She handed them to Artyom.

''Here, you should take these.'' She said, handing him the goggles. For a split second Artyom wondered what good binoculars would do him. ''Now you don't have to worry about recharging your flashlight or alerting people with it.''

''And what about you?'' Artyom asked, no longer on the floor. ''How exactly are you supposed to see in the dark? As you can might have noticed, throughout the Metro there's a great deal of it.''

Velvet remembered that Artyom, along with everyone else in the Metro, and probably the entirety of Moscow, didn't know what a Faunus was. As well as what special abilities some of them possessed.

''Besides my excellent hearing, I also have natural night vision.'' Velvet started, waiting for Artyom to put on the goggles before continuing ''It's just one of the many perks of being a Faunus I guess. ''

It was something that Artyom found to be pretty cool. Almost as though it was some kind of superpower. Velvet wanted to keep the conversation going, but Artyom was growing ever so impatient. He began to slowly walk towards the tunnel's exit. The sound of gunfire, yelling, and small explosions were becoming more and more audible.

Eventually the two Stalkers came to the same cart that had brought them to the front line. The only person in it was an Officer, everyone else was most likely engaging in battle. The Officer shouted what was supposed to be inspiration to his men. But all it really sounded like was half threats and nonsense.

When crossing between a war zone, stealth is almost always the best option. The two stayed crouched down, and Artyom had only his throwing knives equipped. Velvet hoped he wouldn't have to use them on anybody.

For for the first few minutes of sneaking, nothing very notable happened. It wasn't until they were half way through the mess, that Velvet and Artyom came across a complex situation. Ahead there were a few Reds pointing their guns at what looked like an unarmed Nazi Soldier.

Artyom's sensible instincts told him to ignore the scene and try to pass by the men. But Velvet's told her to do the exact opposite.

''We have to help that guy.'' She whispered to Artyom. ''They're going to execute him.''

''If we get caught we're dead.'' Artyom responded. ''Besides, he's a Nazi. Ask anyone, the less in the world the better.''

Velvet decided she wasn't taking no for an answer. ''Either you help me save him, or I try myself.''

After hearing Artyom groan, Velvet knew she had won. But the situation didn't play out like she had hoped. Knocking the Reds out is what she wanted. But instead Artyom ended things quickly. He threw two of his throwing knives at the men. One went straight into one of the Soldier's heads. The other found itself in the throat of the other.

Looking back at Velvet, Artyom saw that she now had a shocked and slightly horrified expression on her. He felt kind of bad. But then again they only had so much time to reach Miller. Artyom went to the bodies. ''What the hell?'' Artyom said upon seeing who he had believed to be a Nazi.

Getting up, Velvet checked why Artyom was so surprised. But she soon shared the feeling. She had never seen them before. But Velvet was certain that Nazis didn't look like 15 year old girls who like to wear black and red dresses.

''RUBY!'' Velvet shouted. She probably didn't intend to alert all those nearby.